Renovation

My fireplace experience didn’t turn out so great at first. The two boxes that housed the fireplace parts came on two different days, so there was panic on the first day when I just received the fireplace frame and not the firebox or logs. I put the frame together, and was a little miffed at the vague directions, but it all worked out in the end. Last night we received 8″ of snow, so when I got up this morning, I wasted no time in doing this: Read the rest of this entry »

The contractors worked most of the day today, installing trim and quarter-round. My coveted George Kovacs “Bling Bling” light was hung, and, at that moment, angels sang. Until the table comes in, we’re using our wobbly card table as a very, very, VERY poor substitute. The K Mart tablecloth (obviously straight out of the bag, hence the wrinkles) almost hides the ugly thing. But the chairs are cool, aren’t they?

After the flooring was installed, I started staring at the room, trying to envision what everything would look like when this project was completely done. The table would be toward the front of the room in the space where the was formerly was. The back of the room, originally, was supposed to be where our computer would go, since we lack a better place for it other than the basement. While the basement might be an OK spot for it, it is also the kids’ playroom, and we were a little worried about the damage those kids could inflict with flying toys, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Only a few more feet of the flooring to go. I am amazed at how easy this flooring is to install … although I say that as an observer, not the installer. It’s easy for those words to leave my lips when I’m not doing the cutting and measuring. Read the rest of this entry »

The new room is taking shape. The contractor finished mudding the walls, and I put an initial coat of primer on them on Saturday so he could touch up any spots. I suppose I’m learning why people don’t like non-textured walls in their houses: they show every single flaw. However, I wanted the walls to match the non-textured walls in the kitchen, so my intentions were good. Read the rest of this entry »

The other night I finally decided on what flooring to put in our kitchen and new dining/miscellaneous room. I wanted laminate so it would be easy to change out when/if we got sick of it, and I also wanted something that brought a retro flair to the rooms. For months I’ve been toying with the idea of black-and-white checkerboard flooring, but I kept getting hung up on the fear that my house would look like a diner rather than a cozy kitchen with a retro flair. Read the rest of this entry »

Progress today: the subfloor was laid in the cloud room to make it even with the eighty layers of subfloors and vinyl that currently exist in the kitchen. A temp light was placed where the pendant light will be, and two cans were placed for recessed lighting. Read the rest of this entry »

The walls came down today … and I suppose while there are dozens of ways to mean that statement metaphorically, I actually meant them in the literal sense. The wall that separated the kitchen from the “computer room” — formally my youngest son’s baby room — has been bashed in: Read the rest of this entry »

The work on our house is scheduled to begin soon, and I am just about ready to hit the “buy” button on that red cracked ice chrome table over at American Chairs. Frankly, I’m amazed that I have been able to put off this urge this long. Had I lived in a larger house, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it, but knowing as I do that my 1953 ranch house didn’t come with tons of space for an extra table, I’ve held off out of necessity rather than want. I suppose it’s good for me to exercise a little restraint now and then. Read the rest of this entry »

Since we purchased this house in 2000, we’ve learned a lot of lessons about home improvement. I’m not sure if everyone knows exactly what he or she is getting into with the purchase of a new home; after all, most of us are just so excited to have our own space — with our own walls that we can drive nails into if we want to. Read the rest of this entry »